Maya the Engineer

 Title: Maya the Engineer

Author: Amanda Green

Publisher: Yes She Can LLC

Genre: Children's fiction

My Review:

What do you think of when you hear Engineer? If you are like me, you likely think of a man who operates a locomotive. However, in Maya the Engineer young readers will explore several remarkable jobs that fall under the category of an engineer.  

Maya the Engineer is a debut picture book written by Amanda Green. Amanda is an Architectural Engineer. She studied at Penn State and selected this field because of her passion for sustainable buildings. She lives in Orlando, Florida as a Mechanical Designer and does HVAC design for buildings, mostly theme parks (how cool is that?!).

Maya the Engineer has a remarkably busy week ahead. Each day of the week she will explore a different field of engineering. On Monday she is an architectural engineer. Maya explains what an architectural engineer is and why it is significant. On Tuesday she represents another type of engineer, can you guess what kind?

There are several reasons I appreciate this book. The first is that we can all learn something about engineering. For example, not all engineers drive trains or work with electricity. Second, while you are discovering the varied fields of engineering you are also learning the days of the week. Third, the illustrations are appealing and provide an exact representation of the job that Maya is doing on that day. Finally, while this book is geared more towards girls and empowering them in the field of engineering, boys will learn from this book as well.

There was only one thing that I did not enjoy about this book. The initial sentence felt awkward to me. Other than that, there is nothing I did not like or enjoy about this book. It is meticulously edited. Other than the first sentence feeling awkward, there were no typos or grammatical errors.

I am thrilled that this book has been written. While there are many picture books written on jobs that you can be when you grow up (You can be a policeman), there are not many that truly seek to empower and inform in the male-dominated field of engineering. This book conveys enough information to pique a child’s interest, but not so much that a young child would be overwhelmed.

This book would be ideal for children between the ages of 3-9. It would make a wonderful addition to home libraries, as well as public libraries. Maya the Engineer would also make an excellent teaching tool in preschools and lower elementary grades for learning the days of the week and for learning about careers. 

Synopsis:

Maya the Engineer is about a young girl exploring different types of engineering each day of the week through activities with friends. Each activity shows Maya that she has the skills necessary to become an engineer when she grows up. The book was written to educate kids about different types of engineering and encourage them to continue being creative and innovative in their day-to-day life. The book contains all female characters to show young girls that engineering is a space where they belong and are needed. 

This review published on Reedsy Discovery on 5/18/21 here.